By Charles J. Lewis

Published 8:30 pm, Saturday, May 11, 2013

There are 435 members of the U.S. House but there's only one Rosa DeLauro, New Haven's Technicolor congresswoman.

DeLauro's public persona is unique.

Her political philosophy: smash-mouth liberal.

Rhetoric: White-hot, rapid.

Apparel: A kaleidoscope of color in an ocean of dark suits.

But push past DeLauro's splashy profile and you'll find an influential lawmaker who uses her senior seat in Congress to provide national leadership on issues dear to her heart: food safety, abortion rights, healthcare.

DeLauro, 70, is Connecticut's senior House member. She won her 12th term by collecting 75 percent of the vote — the largest victory margin among the state's five incumbent Democratic U.S. representatives even though her campaign treasury was the smallest.

Her 22-year career has made her 24th in House seniority, an exalted perch in a body where seniority unlocks the doors to power. Her closest friends in the chamber are, like her, veteran women members who won their first House elections at a time when there were far fewer women representatives. They include Reps. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. (There were 29 women in the House when DeLauro took the oath of office in 1991; now there are 78.)

Pelosi, asked to assess her friend and colleague's legislative career, said, "There is no greater champion for America's women and families" than DeLauro.

"It is a true privilege to count Rosa among my closest friends and dearest colleagues. I am awed and inspired every day by her passion, her spirit, her dedication and determination to fight for our values."

DeLauro's seniority has brought her clout on the House Appropriations Committee, the most sought-after real estate in the House because it has the power of the purse and decides how much tax money to spend and where to spend it. When the Democrats last held the majority (2007-2011), DeLauro's seniority made her the chair of one of the 12 appropriations subcommittees, a post so esteemed that the dozen chairs are referred to as the "cardinals."

Because House members usually only have two committee assignments, the well-named steering committee can define a House member's legislative career.

Her clout is enhanced by the fact that she's married to Stan Greenberg, the respected political consultant and pollster who was close to the White House during the Clinton administration. Together, they are a leading Beltway power couple (liberal division).

She was one of 12 House Democrats invited last week to have dinner with President Obama as part of his continuing schmooze-fest with congressional leaders.

The House veteran, who wryly terms herself "a survivor of the blood sport of New Haven politics," cuts a national figure in the continuing debates over health care overhaul, food safety, medical research and abortion rights. Her passion and intensity imbue her debate rhetoric and her one-on-one conversations with her colleagues.

At a recent hearing on the FDA's budget plans, DeLauro made an impassioned pitch to her subcommittee colleagues to approve full funding for the agency.

"NASA's budget was 7.3 times larger than the FDA!" DeLauro lamented. "We're not talking about hardware, we're talking about life and death at the Food and Drug Administration!" she rushed on. "If we are serious, let us provide the FDA with the budget authority commensurate with the job that it does. Put our dollars where our mouth is!"

McLean says DeLauro's "flamboyant outfits and bright colors make her different. She's easily recognizable. She's the local home-grown New Haven kid who became a big-time political player. People know her and she works at keeping her roots in the area."